So you’re thinking about commuting to work by bike this summer? Congratulations, your life is about to get a zillion times more fun. But where to begin? The insular world of cycling can seema little, uh, confusing to those unfamiliar with it—it’s hard to know what you really need to get started riding.

Cycling, it turns out, can be a lot like high school. There are cliques. There are highly-codified rules about how to act, and about what to wear, and how to wear it. There is a whole unspoken language attached to your bike, your gear, your clothing. Like any subculture, it is opaque and confusing to beginners—and you shouldn’t let it drive you away… So to speak.

Because, really, riding a bike is simple. It’s one of the most uncomplicated, magical experiences you can have as an adult living in a city. It will make you feel like a little kid, rather than the ennui-laden sad sack you’ve become. You get on, you focus on staying alive, and you lapse into an absent-minded kind of joy. As Tim Kreider put it in The New York Times, “When I’m balanced on two thin wheels at 30 miles an hour, gauging distance, adjusting course, making hundreds of unconscious calculations every second, that idiot chatterbox in my head is kept too busy to get a word in.”

As you get into it, there are going to be all kinds of things you want to buy: A full toolkit! A work stand! Clipless pedals! All kinds of outlandish getups! Another bike! Another bike! But for now, let’s keep it simple: What do you really need?

Be Safe

The most important thing—the thing you’re probably the most freaked out about—is staying safe on the road. Before you buy anything else, buy a helmet (this is best done in the store, so we’ll skip it here). Then, buy lights. After that, we can move on to making sure your stuff stays safe while it’s locked up. But those two things are far more important, in the long run.

Lights

There are nearly as many lights out there as cyclists, and everyone’s going to have their own preference. There are a ton of really clever new products hitting the market, too, but try Knog’s Blinders. They plug into your computer’s USB port to charge, and are as brilliantly bright as their name suggests. If you’re not convinced, Gizmodo’s full bike light guide is here. [$30, Knog]

Locks

Again, everyone will have their own preference here. But over the course of several years of riding in New York (and, more recently, Chicago), my trusty Kryptonite U-Lock has never let me down. Get a cord if you’re worried about your front wheel going missing while you’re inside. The smaller U-Lock will fit in your back pocket, too. For further reading on locks, check out this guide. [$43, Amazon]

Be Prepared

Riding a bike will make you extremely happy. That being said, your bike may be a pain in the ass at the worst times—in the rain, in the dark, in the snow. If you have a few simple tools with you, you’ll be fine. And you’ll have a cool story to tell (hey, remember that time I fixed a flat under the BQE during a thunderstorm at 4am?).

A Multitool

SEXPAND

This is one of those items that just make you feel safer, even if you never have to use it. But you very well may: Whether to raise your seat, break your chain, or tighten up a screw. And then you’ll be glad you had it. This little 17-tool version is tiny but powerful. [$27, Crank Brothers]

A Fender

Fender!, you say, I don’t need no stinking fender! Yes, you do, if you don’t want all your co-workers to think you pooped your pants on the way to work again. It doesn’t have to be permanent, either—Ass Savers’ origami-style folding version is awesome and easily removable. [$11, Ass Savers]

Lube

This might be the kind of thing you want to leave to your friendly local mechanic, but that’s dumb. Maintaining your chain is way more important than you think—it’s also extremely easy to do, and you’ll feel like Al Borland afterwards. There are a ton of good high-performance options out there, but this stuff is inexpensive and gets the job done. [$5, Amazon]

A Map

When your phone dies at 4am coming back from your friend’s apartment in god knows where, you’ll be kicking yourself for being so dependent on Google Maps. Get the real thing—even a credit card-sized one—and put it in your wallet. [Free at NYC.gov or $5, Amazon]

A Good Key Clasp

You’re going to be taking your keys out a lot: To lock up, to unlock, to get into your house, to open beers, etc. Having them on your hip at all times will help! And also avoid having them slip out of your pocket. [$3, Amazon]

Know How to Change a Flat

You will get a flat at some point. If you’re riding in a city, odds are good that there will always be a shop nearby when this happens. But changing a tube is actually pretty easy once you’ve done it once, and it’ll be a future source of pride when you help out some other poor schmuck. To do so, you need a few very inexpensive tools.

Tire Irons

The little plastic levers you’ll need to get your tire off your rim. These only cost a couple bucks and they’re super light. [$3, Amazon]

A Patch Kit

Once you have your tire off, it takes just a minute or two to slather some of this stuff on the tear and press a patch into place. Again: Tiny, cheap, light, invaluable in a pinch. [$6, Amazon; Image: Kate McCarthy]

A Short Pump

Once you’ve got yourself all fixed up, you need a way to fill the tire back up so you can go on your way. Try a short pump—these are just a little longer than the length of your hand, and fit easily inside a back pack. Another options? A tiny CO2 canister, which is more expensive per use but smaller than a pump. But keep in mind, you should only use these in emergencies—you’re going to want a floor pump for home use. [$27; Amazon and $20; REI]

Be Comfortable With Sweat

Unless you’re an alien, you’re going to sweat. That’s OK. There are a few different approaches to dealing with it. One: Don’t give a fuck. Two: Bring a change of clothes so you can change once you get there (hopefully there’s a shower, as there is at my lovely workplace). The third way is a compromise: Bring a kit that includes the essential elements of a faux-shower.

A Bathroom Kit

Wet wipes. Deodorant. A tooth brush. A comb. They sell kits for camping for not much money online, or hit up the travel-size aisle at Target. Add or subtract as you see fit—dry shampoo, clean socks, and so forth—but you’ll thank yourself for lugging these seemingly inconsequential tools when you really need them. [$12, Amazon]

Wet Wipes

The commuter’s best friend. A quick wet wipe “shower” will make you feel a thousand times better if you’re faced with sitting in your own sweat for eight hours. [$.65, Amazon]

A Note On Your Privates

Ha ha, a little levity! But I am deathly serious. Getting your jimmies (or the female equivalent) twisted in a pair of underwear while moving at high speeds in traffic is the modern-day equivalent of the medieval Pear of Anguish. Do not let this happen to you!

Underwear

Avoiding wedgies starts with underwear: You could try something fancy, like Urbanist Cycling’s chamois-embedded numbers, but any pair of seamless underpants will do the trick to (the same goes for dudes). [$50, Urbanist and $12.50, Victoria’s Secret]

Pants

As a wise person once told me, “pants and underwear form an unholy matrimony for commuters.” One is only as good as the other. Think stretchy, but not too stretchy. You want to find the perfect tensility that gives enough to allow movement, but isn’t so thin that it feels like you’re riding naked, which would hurt.

Outlier’s Daily Riding Pant comes highly recommended for both dudes and ladies. But if you’re looking for something cheap and you don’t mind giving money to Urban Outfitters, I’ve found that BDG makes a serviceable pair that last long enough to become a great pair of jorts when summer rolls around. [$198, Outlier; $58, BDG]

Ask any cyclist: Racing saddles are uncomfortable. Especially for the first few months, when they feel like pieces of wood. But Brooks, the venerable … Read…

This isn’t exactly a basic necessity, but consider investing in a comfortable saddle. If you’re a lady, check out Terry—they make female-specific saddles and clothing. We’ve had great luck with Brooks’ Cambium, which is a road cycling-style saddle made from rubber. It’s softer than a normal Brooks, and absorbs bumps a bit better. [$130, Brooks]

Finally, Don’t Be an Idiot

The most important part of riding in the city is keeping your head on straight: Be aware of what’s going on around you, always throw a glance over your shoulder when you’re turning, and if you’re going to listen to music, only use one earbud. But there are a few basic rules that will endear you not only to cyclists and pedestrians, but also to cars—which is important:

Stop at every red light (even if you’re going to roll through it). Being on a bike doesn’t make you impervious to the law. Blowing through a red light or stop sign makes you look like an asshole, since you’re endangering other cyclists, pedestrians, and even drivers. Also, you’ll probably get a ticket, and you’ll deserve it.

Don’t shoal. “Shoaling” is when a cyclist in front of you stops at a light—and you pass them to blow through it. It’s rude, and a little dangerous.

Don’t pull out into a crosswalk where pedestrians are trying to walk. Everyone will hate you. Same goes for riding on the sidewalk. Come on.

It also wouldn’t kill you to do a little reading. A great guide to not acting like a total dick is Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike [$14, RivBike]. But also check outBikesnobNYC, the blog of Eben Weiss, who covers cycling culture and the city in general (here’s his take on shoaling). It’s really, really funny writing, and a reminder to not take yourself to seriously.

Now go forth and use your legs to power your way to your place of employment! And be sure to drop your essential items below—again, this list is far from complete, but should be enough to get you started.

MYTH: Bicyclists don’t help pay for the roads they use.

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Many people mistakenly believe that taxes levied on gas pay for road construction and maintenance. However, the funding from gas taxes makes up a relatively small amount of transportation funding. According to a 2011 report by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, gas taxes and other “user fees,” like automobile registration, fund only about half of the nation’s road expenses. The remaining costs are covered through general government funding.

This means we all pay for our roads, whether we drive on them or not.

MYTH: Roads were created for cars.

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After a few false starts with the penny-farthing and aptly nicknamed “boneshaker,” the bicycling boom took off in the late 1800s, after the introduction of the safety bicycle and pneumatic tire. Bicycles in the U.S. and Europe quickly became mainstays of travel for modern and elite classes and were even referred to as a woman’s “freedom machine” by Susan B. Anthony. But the burgeoning groups of bicyclists lacked good roads to ride.

In 1880, bicyclists, riding clubs and bicycle manufacturers formed the League of American Wheelman and founded the Good Roads Movement. The movement gained momentum through conventions, demonstrations and political involvement, which eventually led to the creation of what would become the Federal Highway Administration.

MYTH: Riders are safest on the sidewalk.

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At first glance, it seems like bicyclists are safest on sidewalks, separated from automobile traffic. Riding on the sidewalk does reduce the incidence of accidents involving cars passing bicyclists, but sidewalk riders significantly increase the risk of being hit by turning drivers.

A 2009 review of 23 studies on bicycling injuries found the best places for bicyclists to travel were protected bike lanes, closely followed by on-road bike lanes and separated bike paths. It turns out that the most dangerous way to ride is the way many of us were taught as kids: on the sidewalk against the flow of traffic.

MYTH: You can’t get a decent bike for less than a gazillion dollars.

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Flipping through nearly any “bike buying guide” can make anyone freak out a little. While there are new (and pricey) innovations every year, the truth is that bicycles have been around since the mid-eighteen hundreds and the design hasn’t changed all that much. For every high-zoot scoot, there is a used bike waiting to be loved by someone new. If you don’t want to go on a Craigslist adventure or hit up the 7 a.m. garage sale beat, look for a bicycle co-op in your town or other non-profits who refurbish pre-loved bikes. If want a good deal on a new bike, the onset of the new year’s bike bling usually means bike shops have priced last year’s models to move.

MYTH: Bicyclists think they own the road.

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Bicycling isn’t magically devoid of the self-absorbed nitwits found in every corner of society. However, most people on bikes out there are simply that: people.

Whether we’re choosing to go by bike or car, we’re all just trying to get somewhere. It behooves us all to be a little more considerate and, perhaps most importantly, to give each other the benefit of the doubt. No one wants to have his or her day ruined by an accident.

MYTH: Bikes are just kids’ toys.

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Bikes inspired cars and roads and aviation. They laid the foundation for much of the modern transportation and road infrastructure we use today. Bicycling is also a $6 billion industry.

And, yes, bicycles are kids’ toys, but have you seen the way a kid smiles when he’s figuring out how to pedal or racing his best friend on a hot summer day? If the definition of a toy is an object of amusement and a creator of smiles, then, yes, bikes are toys. But bikes are also tools. They’re exercise equipment and art and a way to get from here to there. Bikes are many things to many people. If bikes bridge the gap between the fun of childhood and goal-oriented confines of adulthood, well, isn’t that a feature more so than a downside?

MOBILE, Alabama — Following a three-day, mayors only meeting in Texas, MayorSandy Stimpson has concluded that a major key to developing Mobile’s waterfront area lies in making Water Street walkable and easier to navigate, he said on Monday.

The comments were made after Stimpson attended the Mayors’ Institute on City Design in San Antonio from March 5 through March 7, an annual gathering of mayors and urban planning experts from across the country.

Mayors from places as far flung as Santa Rosa, Calif., and Somerville, Mass., were asked to present an issue in their cities for the group to consider.

Stimpson’s presentation focused on one of the Port City’s most frustrating dilemmas: the underutilization of multiple waterfront properties, including the Alabama Cruise Terminal.

“What they saw was the lack of connectivity between all of our venues — the lack of signage — probably the biggest problem is Water Street,” Stimpson said. “The problem with Water Street (is) you have a six lane major thoroughfare that does not have the perception of safe crossings to get pedestrians across.”

He said the solution may include the closure of lanes and would have to include a solution for bicyclists looking to get around the waterfront area. To help determine what’s needed, Stimpson extended an invitation to one of the experts at the conference, Mukul Malhotra. (Read more at AL.com)

From NPR: The federal government loses its control of land that’s granted to railroad companies after the track has been abandoned, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday. The court sided with a private landowner in Wyoming who is fighting efforts to convert disused tracks into a bike path near his house.

The court’s decision overturns decisions by district and appeals courts. The wider impact of the ruling is difficult to estimate, partly because the U.S. government doesn’t have a central database of the land it owns under such circumstances, as SCOTUS Blog has reported.

The justices and attorneys acknowledged that uncertainty during oral arguments over the case in January.

“For all I know, there is some right of way that goes through people’s houses, you know,” Justice Stephen Breyer said, “and all of a sudden, they are going to be living in their house and suddenly a bicycle will run through it.”

From Downtown Alliance: Visitors to Downtown Mobile will soon have a new transportation option thanks to Regions Bank. Regions is providing 10 of its trademark green bicycles for the Downtown Mobile Alliance’s new bike rental program.

Beginning March 18th, the bikes will be available for rent at the Urban Emporium at 260 Dauphin Street. The $20/half-day rate includes a helmet and all the fun you can have on two wheels! Look for specials, such as half-off Mondays, and rediscover what life is like at 10 mph.

Bicycling in Mobile

BicycleMobile.org is a an advocacy website devoted to every aspect of bicycling in Mobile, AL. We have lists of group rides, information about bike shops and a list of key issues for advocacy and infrastructure.